March 31, 2018
The state-run agency launched 150 road projects covering 7,400 km and worth US$18.5 billion during the financial year 2017-18 - an all-time high for NHAI since its inception in 1995
Around 3,791 km of road project was awarded on engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model; 3,396 km was awarded on hybrid annuity model and 209 km on toll model
The uptick in project sanctions is backed by the Government’s ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana programme that aims to set up around 84,000 km of new highways across India by 2022
It is expected that new road projects covering around 3,000 km will be awarded by the NHAI over the first two months of the financial year 2018-19 starting April 1st, 2018
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a record high volume of road projects during the financial year 2017-18. The Government-run agency launched 150 road projects covering 7,400 km and worth US$18.5 billion. In comparison, over the past five years, the average length of road projects awarded by NHAI has been 2,860 km with 4,335 km awarded during the last financial year. The length of projects awarded in during the year ended March 31st 2018 is an all-time high and a record achievement by NHAI since its inception in 1995. Out of the total projects awarded, 3,791 km length was awarded on engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model at a cost of US$6.6 billion; 3,396 km was awarded on hybrid annuity model at a cost of US$11.8 billion and 209 km on toll model at a cost of US$384.5 million.
The projects awarded include 1,234 km in Rajasthan; 739 km in Maharashtra; 747 km in Odisha; 725 km in Uttar Pradesh; 511 km in Tamil Nadu; 504 km in Andhra Pradesh; 468 km in Karnataka; 449 km in Gujarat; 389 km in Madhya Pradesh; 331 km in Haryana; 232 km in Bihar; 201 km in Jharkhand; 189 km in Telangana; 126 km in West Bengal; 120 km in Punjab; 100 km in Jammu and Kashmir; and balance in other states. The Government said that project volume was challenged by delays in land acquisition in some states, without which the award figures could have been higher. NHAI had planned to award 10,000 km of new road projects during 2017-18, inviting bids for a length of 10,460 km till January 2018, costing around US$28.1 billion. It is expected that projects of around 3,000 km will be awarded over the first two months of the financial year 2018-19 starting April 1st, 2018.
The uptick in project tenders and sanctions is backed by the Government of India’s ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana programme that aims to set up around 84,000 km of new highways across India by 2022. This infrastructure initiative follows a number of crucial policy amendments last year and is estimated to considerably boost the national economy. Under the new protocol, the NHAI board has been delegated full powers for sanctioning EPC projects. Following that high powered Projects Appraisal Committee and Cost Committee were put in place under the NHAI. During this drive, post Bharatmala, 232 projects were put on tenders involving around 11,200 km of road length costing more than US$30.7 billion. To expedite land acquisition, a number of retired officers have been employed and strong monitoring mechanisms have been put in place.